Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will attend the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) seers’ meet at Magh Mela grounds here on Friday. This will be the first major public event of the VHP to be attended by Adityanath after he took charge as the chief minister.

Adityanath will be accompanied by his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya and other VHP leaders from the state to the Sant-Sammelan Dharm Sabha. Organisers said that issues ranging from cow vigilantism to social equality, among others, will be discussed at the meet.

Pravin Togadia, VHP’s International Working President, who was reported “missing” and later found “unconscious” at a park in Ahmedabad on Monday, will not attend the event. After the incident, Togadia had alleged that a plot was hatched to get him killed in a fake encounter by Rajasthan Police “under political pressure”.

“Togadiaji will not be coming. Only VHP leaders from Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring areas are attending the sammelan,” said Sharad Sharma, VHP Uttar Pradesh media-in-charge.

On sending an invitation to Adityanath, Sharma said, “We are inviting Yogiji for being one of the leading saints of the country. This has nothing to do with him belonging to a political party. He is the CM of the state and also the head priest of the Gorakhnath temple.”

Issues to be discussed at the meet include cow vigilantism, Ram temple and unifying of “all Indians irrespective of their caste or religion”, besides those that concern seers and saints.